You Started It
by The Shipping Cap'n
Summary: Pearlmethyst 'nuff said
Pearl had kissed her first. That much Amethyst knew, and sure as hell wanted to get out in the open before the lithe warrior did it for her.

It had started as a fight, as they always do. Something about her room being too messy and her waterfalls getting Pearl's stuff washed up down there.

One minute they were at the other's throat and the next they were kissing.

It ended rather quick and with a flustered Pearl murmuring a fast apology before she took off back to her own room, leaving a very confused Amethyst behind.

Now she sat in the kitchen staring aimlessly at the counter, lost in thought.

 _What the hell was_ _ **that**_ _about?_ She wondered perplexedly, her gaze from the countertop only broken when she heard the Temple door opening.

Pearl stepped out, brushing her bangs back from her face, one of her ticks when she was nervous but didn't want to show it.

She walked briskly past Amethyst, her eyes turned towards the floor and a blush darkening on her face as she avoided eye contact. Amethyst tried to turn towards her, keeping her body relaxed so as to inspire some kind of talking but to no avail. Pearl was already long past her and out the door before she could even say her name. The word dying on her tongue as the house door clicked shut.

She let a sharp sigh leave her and then turned back to the counter, a mixture of anger and confusion rolling in the pit of her stomach.

"Yeah sure P, just walk by me why dontcha, not like you just seriously did something to me or anything."

She growled to herself and glared down at her reflection on the counter's surface. Anger winning over her confusion as she talked to herself. Not noticing that she wasn't as alone as she thought.

"What did Pearl do?" she heard from behind, making her jump as she whirled around.

"G-Garnet! Don't sneak up on me like that! I almost pissed myself here man!" She shouted, face flushing more over her words being heard than the surprise.

"I didn't sneak up on you." Garnet said simply. "You just weren't listening when I called your name."

Her blush darkened tenfold as she stared down her reflection in the table, shoulders tensing on themselves as she hunched over. "Oh." Was all she said, too embarrassed to speak further.

"So." Garnet said, sitting next to her on a stool at the island, causing the shorter gem to flinch even more. "What did Pearl do?" She asked again, trying to see Amethyst's face past the long lavender hair that now hid it.

"I- She just uhm…" Amethyst trailed off, face burning and voice cracking. "She didn't do anything. We just got into another fight is all?"

Amethyst cringed stiffly at how her voice sounded so unsure. She knew she probably sounded stupid as hell and that Garnet could see through her lies. She felt pathetic.

"Mhm…. And?" Garnet asked. The fusion placed a hand in what she hoped was a comforting way on the small of the shorter gem's back. Slightly frowning when it only made Amethyst tremble nervously.

"Amethyst. You can talk to me, you know that don't you? About anything. We are a team and more than that we are friends. Your problems are just as important to me as anyone else's." She said, the words coming easily in their honesty as she attempted to rub her back. The action only slightly stopping her rapid shaking.

Amethyst lifted her head to look at the taller gem, her gaze being met with her reflection once more as she looked into Garnet's visor. "Garnet." she started, only to stop again, still unsure.

"Amethyst." She received simply. Garnet never once taking her eyes off of her friend.

"Pearl… Pearl…. S-she-"Her confession was cut off as the gem in question came through the door suddenly, breathing hard.

"Ha-ha- Garnet, _Amethyst_." She said hurriedly, the emphasis on the Quartz gem's name not being missed by either gem as she walked at a clipped pace towards them. "What are we talking about?"

Garnet sat up more. Turning from Amethyst to Pearl with a hard gaze. "Why?"

Pearl faltered, her face slipping into a false smile as she looked quickly between the two.

"Were you spying?" Garnet asked, not in the mood to beat around the bush as per usual.

"Ah- what?! Ha-ha, me? Spy?!" Pearl replied quickly, flushed face answering for her. "O-of course not! I was just outside cleaning the ah- the gutters! I heard the two of you talking by proximity- nothing more!" Her blush intensified as Garnet's face scrunched in a slight frown, her words obviously not being believed.

"Fine." Garnet said, putting a hand on Amethyst's back once more as the trembling Quartz sat hunched over the island again. Not looking at either of them from behind her hair. "We're talking about personal issues. Issues that do not need to be heard by anyone but us right now." She said, readjusting her visor.

Pearl faltered, her smile slipping into a tense frown as her eyes widened before snapping back into a pleasant grin. "Oh- No problem, I can see when I'm not wanted ha-ha!" She turned tensely, heading back towards the door.

"Guess I'll just keep cleaning those gutters then!" she said all too happily, the door slamming far harder than she had meant to behind her as she left.

"Hm. She's going to keep spying. Come with me." Garnet said. She gently gripped one of Amethyst's hands, pulling her towards the Temple door. "We'll go to my room. No one will disturb us there."

Amethyst's eyes widened, following unquestioningly after her leader.

Before she followed her into the Temple she turned to look behind her. Pearl's eyes narrowing from under the blinds of the front window being the last thing she saw as they entered Garnet's room.

 _Later_

The Temple door opened. Two tense gems coming through it into the still empty kitchen.

Amethyst had never been so grateful for Steven's dad taking him for the day. She had time to vent without worry.

"Garnet?" She asked, looking up at the fusion with a nervous expression.

"I told you." Garnet said. Looking down at her with a reassuring smile. "Just relax. Neither of you are in trouble. And I'm sure that whatever happens Pearl is just worried about dealing with this, much like you are."

"O-ok." She replied meekly, looking at the front door in surprise as it opened.

"Amethyst. I would like to speak to you." Pearl said. Her voice was falsely pleasant but she had a slight gleam in her eyes that wasn't missed by either of the two gems before her.

"You can speak to her out _here_ then." Garnet said defensively, a hand going in front of Amethyst as she stepped forwards. Clearly worried about Pearl's mental state at the moment.

"I know everything Pearl. I'm not mad at either of you if that's the issue." She then said, trying to be calming but failing as her voice went tense.

"I don't care." Pearl clipped, eyes narrowing of their own accord as she looked to the floor, a bright blue blush saying otherwise as she walked closer towards them. "I want to speak to Amethyst. _Alone_."

She walked past them and through the Temple door to her room. Turning only to look at them for a moment to gesture at the short Quartz to follow her as it shut between them.

Garnet frowned, her hand resting on Amethyst's shoulder comfortingly.

"You don't have to go. We can insist to talk to her _together_ if you feel you must. But you don't have to be alone with her again if you're not ready." She said, grip hardening protectively on her as fought to keep her tone gentle.

"N-No. It's ok Garnet. I've got this." She said, voice dripping with false confidence as she walked to the door. Stepping through and leaving her only backup behind as the heavy door slid shut behind her soon after.

Pearl's room was quiet. Something that wouldn't have been nearly as uncommon if there wasn't the heavy feeling of dread accompanying it.

She walked to the center of the room. Her footsteps sloshing loudly in the water as she made her way to the middle water tier. Where she knew Pearl would be.

"Pearl? I'm here." She said loudly. Trying to make her voice heard over the falling water.

"I know." She heard from behind, spinning around quickly to find the gem in question standing tall behind her. "You make a lot of noise you know."

"I-I…. Uh. You wanted to talk?" she said dumbly. She hated how her voice cracked, her question coming out small as she was stared down by Pearl's piercing blue eyes.

"I do." Pearl stated simply, almost twirling around her on her way to be behind her again.

She bent low with the grace of a practiced ballerina, her eyes narrowed like a snake about to strike as she leveled her mouth with Amethyst's ear.

"You told Garnet. Didn't you?"

Amethyst shivered, a mixture of fear and something else coiling in her stomach hotly as she looked to the floor with a blush.

"Y-yeah…. Well- _you_ didn't want to talk to me so what _else_ was I supposed to do?!" She suddenly shouted, turning her embarrassment and confused emotions into anger as she whipped around on the taller gem. Staring her down challengingly before she herself could back down again.

"You could have kept your mouth _shut_ Amethyst! Something I almost can't blame someone like _you_ for not doing. Did I expect too much of you again?" Pearl hissed with unhidden snark, her frown intensifying as her eyes narrowed again.

"Ho- EXPECT OF ME?!" Amethyst screamed, satisfied with how Pearl's eyes flew open in her shock and how her body recoiled back in slight submission. Obviously not expecting the shorter gem to blow up this much.

"You never expect ANYTHING OF ME! DO YOU?!" She shouted. Startling her taller teammate further by stepping towards her suddenly, getting as up in her face as she could in the process.

"AND _THEN_ YOU HAVE THE FUCKING _NERVE_ TO SNOG ME OUT OF THE BLUE! WHO THE FUCK JUST _DOES_ THAT AND THEN DOESN'T EVEN HAVE THE FUCKING DECENCY TO TALK ABOUT IT AFTERWARDS?!"

Her breathing was ragged but she didn't care, she had already turned and began retreating to her own room. Her nerves trying to douse her fire again now that she was done yelling.

"I don't know if you hate me. I don't know if you like me. I don't even know if you _love_ me, in _any sense of the word_. But however conflicted your own thoughts are- keep your shit out of mine. Got it? 'Cuz I don't need to feel this for you _again_ if it's all just a big fucking _joke_."

She left the dumbfounded knight where she stood. Tired of the conversation and embarrassed by her confession of past love. Silently hating the tears that welled in both their eyes as she left.

"Just remember you started it." She said as she went down the waterfall to her room. Ignoring the sound of Pearl's quiet sobbing as it echoed loudly in her head over the water's noise.

She let her own tears fall as she went down. Her words repeating in her head.

 _You started it._

"


End file.
